H5414 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE July 31, 2012 

we can do so in a bipartisan way, and I 

urge a ‘‘yes’’ vote. 

I yield back the balance of my time. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the motion offered by 

the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 

CHAFFETZ) that the House suspend the 

rules and pass the bill, S. 300, as 

amended. 

The question was taken. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the 

opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being 

in the affirmative, the ayes have it. 

Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 

quorum is not present and make the 

point of order that a quorum is not 

present. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. 

The point of no quorum is considered 

withdrawn. 

f 

b 1600 

FEDERAL EMPLOYEE TAX 

ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2012 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move 

to suspend the rules and pass the bill 

(H.R. 828) to amend title 5, United 

States Code, to provide that persons 

having seriously delinquent tax debts 

shall be ineligible for Federal employment, as amended. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The text of the bill is as follows: 

H.R. 828 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 2. INELIGIBILITY OF PERSONS HAVING SERIOUSLY DELINQUENT TAX DEBTS 

FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 73 of title 5, 

United States Code, is amended by adding at 

the end the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VIII—INELIGIBILITY OF 

PERSONS HAVING SERIOUSLY DELINQUENT TAX DEBTS FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT 

‘‘§ 7381. Definitions 

‘‘For purposes of this subchapter— 

‘‘(1) the term ‘seriously delinquent tax 

debt’ means an outstanding debt under the 

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for which a notice of lien has been filed in public records 

pursuant to section 6323 of such Code, except 

that such term does not include— 

‘‘(A) a debt that is being paid in a timely 

manner pursuant to an agreement under section 6159 or section 7122 of such Code; 

‘‘(B) a debt with respect to which a collection due process hearing under section 6330 

of such Code, or relief under subsection (a), 

(b), or (f) of section 6015 of such Code, is requested or pending; 

‘‘(C) a debt with respect to which a levy 

has been issued under section 6331 of such 

Code (or, in the case of an applicant for employment, a debt with respect to which the 

applicant agrees to be subject to a levy 

issued under such section); and 

‘‘(D) a debt with respect to which relief 

under section 6343(a)(1)(D) of such Code is 

granted; 

‘‘(2) the term ‘employee’ means an employee in or under an agency, including an 

individual described in sections 2104(b) and 

2105(e); and 

‘‘(3) the term ‘agency’ means— 

‘‘(A) an Executive agency; 

‘‘(B) the United States Postal Service; 

‘‘(C) the Postal Regulatory Commission; 

and 

‘‘(D) an employing authority in the legislative branch. 

‘‘§ 7382. Ineligibility for employment 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection 

(c), any person who has a seriously delinquent tax debt shall be ineligible to be appointed or to continue serving as an employee. 

‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.—The head 

of each agency shall take appropriate measures to ensure that each person applying for 

employment with such agency shall be required to submit (as part of the application 

for employment) certification that such person does not have any seriously delinquent 

tax debt. 

‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Office of Personnel 

Management, in consultation with the Internal Revenue Service, shall, for purposes of 

carrying out this section with respect to the 

executive branch, promulgate any regulations which the Office considers necessary, 

except that such regulations shall provide 

for the following: 

‘‘(1) All due process rights, afforded by 

chapter 75 and any other provision of law, 

shall apply with respect to a determination 

under this section that an applicant is ineligible to be appointed or that an employee is 

ineligible to continue serving. 

‘‘(2) Before any such determination is 

given effect with respect to an individual, 

the individual shall be afforded 180 days to 

demonstrate that such individual’s debt is 

one described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 

or (D) of section 7381(a)(1). 

‘‘(3) An employee may continue to serve, in 

a situation involving financial hardship, if 

the continued service of such employee is in 

the best interests of the United States, as determined on a case-by-case basis. 

‘‘(d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Director 

of the Office of Personnel Management shall 

report annually to Congress on the number 

of exemptions made pursuant to subsection 

(c)(3). 

‘‘§ 7383. Review of public records 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall provide for such reviews of public records as the 

head of such agency considers appropriate to 

determine if a notice of lien (as described in 

section 7381(1)) has been filed with respect to 

an employee of or an applicant for employment with such agency. 

‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL REQUESTS.—If a notice of 

lien is discovered under subsection (a) with 

respect to an employee or applicant for employment, the agency may— 

‘‘(1) request that the employee or applicant 

execute and submit a form authorizing the 

Secretary of the Treasury to disclose to the 

head of the agency information limited to 

describing whether the employee or applicant has a seriously delinquent tax debt; and 

‘‘(2) contact the Secretary of the Treasury 

to request tax information limited to describing whether the employee or applicant 

has a seriously delinquent tax debt. 

‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION FORM.—The Secretary 

of the Treasury shall make available to all 

agencies a standard form for the authorization described in subsection (b)(1). 

‘‘(d) NEGATIVE CONSIDERATION.—The head 

of an agency, in considering an individual’s 

application for employment or in making an 

employee appraisal or evaluation, shall give 

negative consideration to a refusal or failure 

to comply with a request under subsection 

(b)(1). 

‘‘§ 7384. Confidentiality 

‘‘Neither the head nor any other employee 

of an agency may— 

‘‘(1) use any information furnished under 

the provisions of this subchapter for any purpose other than the administration of this 

subchapter; 

‘‘(2) make any publication whereby the information furnished by or with respect to 

any particular individual under this subchapter can be identified; or 

‘‘(3) permit anyone who is not an employee 

of such agency to examine or otherwise have 

access to any such information.’’. 

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis 

for chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, 

is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VIII—INELIGIBILITY OF 

PERSONS HAVING SERIOUSLY DELINQUENT TAX DEBTS FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT 

‘‘7381. Definitions. 

‘‘7382. Ineligibility for employment. 

‘‘7383. Review of public records. 

‘‘7384. Confidentiality.’’. 

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

This Act and the amendments made by 

this Act shall take effect 9 months after the 

date of enactment of this Act. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 

Utah (Mr. CHAFFETZ) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. MALONEY) 

each will control 20 minutes. 

The Chair recognizes the gentleman 

from Utah. 

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask 

unanimous consent that all Members 

may have 5 legislative days within 

which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there 

objection to the request of the gentleman from Utah? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I yield myself such 

time as I may consume. 

Mr. Speaker, almost every Federal 

employee that I have run into, they’re 

good, hardworking, patriotic people 

trying to do the right thing; but unfortunately we have a few that really 

aren’t doing the right thing. 

I want to highlight a problem that 

we see out there. There are those Federal employees that are delinquent on 

their Federal taxes. Now, this becomes 

egregious, I think, because of the nature of their employment—they’re 

working for the Federal Government, 

they’re being paid by the Federal taxpayers, and yet they’re not paying 

their own Federal taxes. 

Unfortunately, over the course of 

time this situation has not gotten better. People are dealing with very difficult situations, they have adopted 

something or somehow in their life 

they’ve gotten upside down. The nature 

and the spirit of this bill, the bill that 

I am the chief sponsor on, is to find 

those people who are trying to do the 

right thing—they’re trying to rectify 

it, they’re trying to come up with a 

plan—we’re not going after those people. But for the other group of people 

who are just totally ignoring the law 


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July 31, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H5415 

and they’re not living up to their obligation, they’re not paying their Federal taxes, there ought to be more of a 

consequence. 

The number of delinquent employees 

has remained fairly consistent since 

the year 2004. Remarkably, there were 

102,794 employees who were delinquent 

with their Federal taxes back in 2004. 

Fast forward to 2010, that number is 

still 98,291. In fact, nearly 700 people on 

Capitol Hill are delinquent on their 

Federal taxes. Unfortunately, the dollar amount of these delinquencies from 

2004, which was $599.8 million, has 

grown to over $1 billion—in fact, it’s 

$1.034 billion unpaid taxes from Federal 

employees. 

So, employees who consciously ignore the channels and processes in 

place to fulfill their tax obligations 

must be held accountable. The Federal 

Employee Tax Accountability Act addresses noncompliance with our tax 

laws by prohibiting individuals with seriously delinquent tax debt from Federal civilian employment. This should 

be common sense, and I hope it’s bipartisan. 

Most taxpayers, including government employees, file accurate tax returns and pay the taxes they owe on 

time, regardless of their income. Federal employees and individuals applying for Federal employment should do 

the same—always. 

In 2010, the most recent year for 

which the IRS data is available, more 

than 98,000 civilian Federal employees 

owed more than $1 billion in taxes. The 

average delinquency rate for Federal 

civilian employees was 3.33 percent, up 

from 2.29 percent in 2008. 

The vast majority of Federal workers 

who owe taxes owe them from income 

that they earned. The intent of this 

bill is simple. If you’re a Federal employee or an applicant for Federal employment, you should be making a 

good faith effort to pay your taxes or 

to dispute them, as taxpayers have the 

right to do. 

Under this bill, H.R. 828, individuals 

having seriously delinquent tax debts 

are ineligible for Federal civilian employment in the executive and legislative branch. ‘‘Serious tax delinquent’’ 

is defined as an outstanding Federal 

debt for which the notice of lien has 

been filed publicly. 

H.R. 828 exempts employees who are 

working to settle tax liabilities by excluding Federal tax debts that are 

being paid in accordance with an installment agreement, offer of compromise, or wage garnishment; for 

which a due process hearing or request 

for relief from joint and several liability is requested or pending; or for 

which relief has been granted. So, there 

are exceptions. We’re not trying to cut 

somebody off at the knees if they’re 

trying to do the right thing. 

The bill requires individuals applying 

for Federal jobs to certify that they 

are not seriously delinquent in their 

taxes. Agencies will also conduct periodic reviews of public records for tax 

liens. And individuals with seriously 

delinquent tax debt may avail themselves of existing due process rights, 

including before the Merit Systems 

Protection Board. In addition, individuals will have 6 months to demonstrate 

that their tax debt is not ‘‘seriously delinquent.’’ 

The bill also provides a financial 

hardship exemption for employees. 

Federal employees are called to account for paying taxes by the code of 

ethics for the executive branch. The 

code of ethics dictates that Federal 

employees must ‘‘satisfy in good faith 

their obligations as citizens, including 

all just financial obligations, especially those such as Federal, State or 

local taxes that are imposed by law.’’ 

Thus, the necessity of this situation. 

Unfortunately, it’s getting worse, it’s 

not getting better. 

We have an obligation, I think, to the 

American taxpayers and to the overwhelming majority, the 96-plus percent 

of Federal workers, who are doing the 

right thing. Thus, I urge the adoption 

of this bill. 

I reserve the balance of my time. 

Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 

myself such time as I may consume. 

Mr. Speaker, as Chairman ISSA stated during the Oversight Committee’s 

consideration of this bill, H.R. 828, this 

is largely a symbolic gesture. 

We all agree that everyone, including 

Federal workers, should pay their 

taxes. Members on both sides of the 

aisle emphasize the need to hold Federal employees accountable for tax obligations. However, the overwhelming 

majority of Federal workers take their 

income tax obligation seriously. 

The tax compliance rate for Federal 

employees is much higher than for the 

American public. According to the 

most recent statistics from the Internal Revenue Service, more than 96 percent of Federal workers pay their taxes 

on time and do not owe money to the 

government. 

In addition, there are already existing laws and regulations that address 

tax debts owed by Federal employees, 

and the IRS has a system in place for 

levying up to 15 percent of Federal 

wage payments made to delinquent 

taxpayers until the tax debt is satisfied. 

The Joint Committee on Taxation 

has concluded that H.R. 828 would have 

‘‘negligible impact’’ on revenue. In 

fact, implementation of the bill would 

have a small cost. So, I’m not certain 

that this bill will have any significant 

impact whatsoever. 

I strongly believe that the House’s efforts and energy would be better spent 

by focusing on measures to strengthen 

the Federal civil service and improve 

the efficiency and effectiveness of the 

Federal Government rather than by 

making symbolic gestures that reinforce a negative view of the Federal 

workforce. 

I reserve the balance of my time. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 

myself such time as I may consume. 

There is a need for this. I wish there 

wasn’t a need for this. There are other 

more pressing things that we should be 

focused on. But this is $1 billion in uncollected taxes, taxes that are due by 

Federal workers. 

Again, I don’t want to disparage the 

reputation of all Federal employees, 

but this small group—in excess now of 

3 percent of our Federal workers—is 

putting tarnishment on those other 

employees. 

I want to point to a January 23, 2012, 

Federal Eye article—Ed O’Keefe is the 

author. Let me read a paragraph from 

his article. He said: 

But on Capitol Hill, 684 employees, or almost 4 percent, of the 18,000 congressional 

staffers owed taxes in 2010, a jump of 46 

workers from 2009. Four percent of House 

staffers owed $8.5 million, and 3 percent of 

Senate employees owed $2.1 million, the IRS 

said. 

We actually get a report from the 

IRS, and it has a breakdown of the 

number of employees by department 

who aren’t paying their Federal taxes. 

The Department of Treasury, they 

have one of the lowest percentages. 

Less than 1 percent of their employees 

don’t pay their taxes, but they still 

have 1,181 employees at the Department of Treasury who aren’t paying it. 

There’s an uncollected $9.3 million. 

At the Federal Reserve, the Board of 

Governors, smaller in terms of their 

numbers, but you still had 91 employees at the Federal Reserve not paying 

their taxes—4.86 percent of their employees not paying over $1.2 million in 

taxes. 

If you go on and look here, this one 

is my personal favorite. The U.S. Office 

of Government Ethics has the worst 

compliance rate of our Federal workers. If you put that in a movie, you 

wouldn’t believe it. But nearly 6.5 percent of their employees don’t pay their 

Federal taxes, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. 

b 1610 

Unfortunately, there is a need for 

this. 

I would like to highlight, we did this 

in a very bipartisan way within committee. There was an amendment offered by Mr. LYNCH of Massachusetts, 

who I have the greatest respect for. He 

offered an amendment. We accepted 

that. When we accepted that, he was 

quoted as saying, and I quote from Mr. 

LYNCH: 

With that refinement here, a friendly 

amendment, I certainly would vote for the 

bill if the amendment were included. 

I hope we can do this in a bipartisan 

way. We have an obligation, a duty to 

do this. 

I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. 

Speaker. 

Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I have 

no additional speakers. I yield back the 

balance of my time. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, let me 

say, in conclusion here, look, if Federal 

workers aren’t paying their Federal 

taxes, they should be fired. If they’re 


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H5416 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE July 31, 2012 

not paying their Federal taxes and 

they want employment here, they 

should not be employed as Federal 

workers. 

We have a duty and an obligation. 

This is a billion dollar problem in 

search of a solution. This is the solution. We should do so in a bipartisan 

way. 

And with that, I urge the adoption of 

this bill. 

I yield back the balance of my time. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the motion offered by 

the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 

CHAFFETZ) that the House suspend the 

rules and pass the bill, H.R. 828, as 

amended. 

The question was taken. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the 

opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being 

in the affirmative, the ayes have it. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, on 

that I demand the yeas and nays. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. 

f 

HONORING AMERICA’S VETERANS 

AND CARING FOR CAMP 

LEJEUNE FAMILIES ACT OF 2012 

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, 

I move to suspend the rules and concur 

in the Senate amendments to the bill 

(H.R. 1627) to amend title 38, United 

States Code, to provide for certain requirements for the placement of monuments in Arlington National Cemetery, 

and for other purposes. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The text of the Senate amendments 

is as follows: 

Senate amendments: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and 

insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as 

the ‘‘Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring 

for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012’’. 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States 

Code. 

Sec. 3. Scoring of budgetary effects. 

TITLE I—HEALTH CARE MATTERS 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Hospital care and medical services for 

veterans stationed at Camp 

Lejeune, North Carolina. 

Sec. 103. Authority to waive collection of copayments for telehealth and telemedicine visits of veterans. 

Sec. 104. Temporary expansion of payments and 

allowances for beneficiary travel 

in connection with veterans receiving care from Vet Centers. 

Sec. 105. Contracts and agreements for nursing 

home care. 

Sec. 106. Comprehensive policy on reporting 

and tracking sexual assault incidents and other safety incidents. 

Sec. 107. Rehabilitative services for veterans 

with traumatic brain injury. 

Sec. 108. Teleconsultation and telemedicine. 

Sec. 109. Use of service dogs on property of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 110. Recognition of rural health resource 

centers in Office of Rural Health. 

Sec. 111. Improvements for recovery and collection of amounts for Department of 

Veterans Affairs Medical Care 

Collections Fund. 

Sec. 112. Extension of authority for copayments. 

Sec. 113. Extension of authority for recovery of 

cost of certain care and services. 

TITLE II—HOUSING MATTERS 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Temporary expansion of eligibility for 

specially adapted housing assistance for certain veterans with disabilities causing difficulty with 

ambulating. 

Sec. 203. Expansion of eligibility for specially 

adapted housing assistance for 

veterans with vision impairment. 

Sec. 204. Revised limitations on assistance furnished for acquisition and adaptation of housing for disabled veterans. 

Sec. 205. Improvements to assistance for disabled veterans residing in housing 

owned by a family member. 

Sec. 206. Department of Veterans Affairs housing loan guarantees for surviving 

spouses of certain totally disabled 

veterans. 

Sec. 207. Occupancy of property by dependent 

child of veteran for purposes of 

meeting occupancy requirement 

for Department of Veterans Affairs housing loans. 

Sec. 208. Making permanent project for guaranteeing of adjustable rate mortgages. 

Sec. 209. Making permanent project for insuring hybrid adjustable rate mortgages. 

Sec. 210. Waiver of loan fee for individuals with 

disability ratings issued during 

pre-discharge programs. 

Sec. 211. Modification of authorities for enhanced-use leases of real property. 

TITLE III—HOMELESS MATTERS 

Sec. 301. Enhancement of comprehensive service 

programs. 

Sec. 302. Modification of authority for provision of treatment and rehabilitation to certain veterans to include 

provision of treatment and rehabilitation to homeless veterans 

who are not seriously mentally ill. 

Sec. 303. Modification of grant program for 

homeless veterans with special 

needs. 

Sec. 304. Collaboration in provision of case 

management services to homeless 

veterans in supported housing 

program. 

Sec. 305. Extensions of previously fully funded 

authorities affecting homeless veterans. 

TITLE IV—EDUCATION MATTERS 

Sec. 401. Aggregate amount of educational assistance available to individuals 

who receive both survivors’ and 

dependents’ educational assistance and other veterans and related educational assistance. 

Sec. 402. Annual reports on Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program and 

Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program. 

TITLE V—BENEFITS MATTERS 

Sec. 501. Automatic waiver of agency of original jurisdiction review of new evidence. 

Sec. 502. Authority for certain persons to sign 

claims filed with Secretary of Veterans Affairs on behalf of claimants. 

Sec. 503. Improvement of process for filing jointly for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation. 

Sec. 504. Authorization of use of electronic communication to provide notice to 

claimants for benefits under laws 

administered by the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 505. Duty to assist claimants in obtaining 

private records. 

Sec. 506. Authority for retroactive effective date 

for awards of disability compensation in connection with applications that are fully-developed at 

submittal. 

Sec. 507. Modification of month of death benefit 

for surviving spouses of veterans 

who die while entitled to compensation or pension. 

Sec. 508. Increase in rate of pension for disabled veterans married to one another and both of whom require 

regular aid and attendance. 

Sec. 509. Exclusion of certain reimbursements of 

expenses from determination of 

annual income with respect to 

pensions for veterans and surviving spouses and children of 

veterans. 

TITLE VI—MEMORIAL, BURIAL, AND 

CEMETERY MATTERS 

Sec. 601. Prohibition on disruptions of funerals 

of members or former members of 

the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 602. Codification of prohibition against reservation of gravesites at Arlington 

National Cemetery. 

Sec. 603. Expansion of eligibility for presidential memorial certificates to 

persons who died in the active 

military, naval, or air service. 

Sec. 604. Requirements for the placement of 

monuments in Arlington National 

Cemetery. 

TITLE VII—OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 701. Assistance to veterans affected by natural disasters. 

Sec. 702. Extension of certain expiring provisions of law. 

Sec. 703. Requirement for plan for regular assessment of employees of Veterans 

Benefits Administration who handle processing of claims for compensation and pension. 

Sec. 704. Modification of provision relating to 

reimbursement rate for ambulance 

services. 

Sec. 705. Change in collection and verification 

of veteran income. 

Sec. 706. Department of Veterans Affairs enforcement penalties for misrepresentation of a business concern as 

a small business concern owned 

and controlled by veterans or as a 

small business concern owned and 

controlled by service-disabled veterans. 

Sec. 707. Quarterly reports to Congress on conferences sponsored by the Department. 

Sec. 708. Publication of data on employment of 

certain veterans by Federal contractors. 

Sec. 709. VetStar Award Program. 

Sec. 710. Extended period of protections for 

members of uniformed services relating to mortgages, mortgage 

foreclosure, and eviction. 

SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED 

STATES CODE. 

Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 

of, a section or other provision, the reference 

shall be considered to be made to a section or 

other provision of title 38, United States Code. 


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